FREQUENCY AND DISTRIBUTION OF ORAL MUCOSAL LESIONS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

In last few decades the people and dental health care professionals have become more aware about the significance of oral mucosal lesions (OML). Therefore, the diagnosis of OML among patients is important to understand the etiology and its effects on oral health of an individual. The purpose of this study was to find out the frequency of oral mucosal lesions among patients seen at a tertiary care hospital with respect to gender, age and type of lesions. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Bahria University Dental Hospital (BUDH) Karachi, Pakistan. The present study comprised of 1999 subjects out of which 411 (20.5%) patients were found to have oral mucosal lesions. Females constituted 36.7% (n=734) and males 63.3% (n=1265). The age ranged 10 to 80 years. Informed consent was taken prior to oral examination. Data were transformed into SPSS version 23. The most frequent finding in present study was Fordyce Granule 84(4.2%) in males and 54(2.7%) in females followed by Linea Alba which was 49(2.4%) in males and 27(1.3%) in females. Racial pigmentation was 37(1.8%) in males and 34(1.7%) in females with higher predilection in males. The maximum number of OML was found in 31 to 40 years of age group. The current study findings showed statistically significant p > .006. The present study attempts to provide the data about types, frequency of OML in dental patients of a teaching hospital